Catching summer rays: Thermo Fisher JIC alumni explore science beyond the classroom - Society for Science

Finals Week is coming up soon for the 2026 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge (Thermo Fisher JIC), and we are excited to welcome the Top 30 finalists to Washington, D. C. at the end of October. It’s going to be an unforgettable week of collaboration, discovery and celebration of their original research. Beyond their research, they bring the same dedication to other interests and pursuits. Here are a few fun facts about these remarkable middle schoolers. About 56% of finalists speak more than one language. Beyond English, some finalists speak Spanish, Mandarin, Telugu, Arabic, Russian and more!

Environmental groups warn seabed mining may harm fragile marine habitats and disrupt ecosystems. (Stock image by magdal3na.) Scientists at the United States Geological Survey (USGS) have discovered that some metal-rich rocks recovered from the deep ocean can spontaneously combust when exposed to air and processed, raising unexpected safety concerns for a potential new mining industry.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researcher Isaiah Santistevan led the development of three-dimensional simulations exploring how a nuclear device could deflect or disrupt an asteroid threatening Earth. Credit: Blaise Douros/LLNL Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers are developing three-dimensional simulations to examine how a nuclear device could be used to deflect or potentially disrupt an asteroid threatening Earth.

Orcas are hunting great White Sharks around the world, scientists confirmThe killing of great whites by orcas has been reported in the waters of South Africa, California, and Australia, and the implications that the hunting behaviour would have on the marine ecosystem have been considered. In fact, it all started back on May 3, 2017, when the body of a female great white, weighing 1,100 kilograms, washed ashore in Gansbaai, close to Cape Town, with a deep gash through which its 90-kilogram liver had been extracted. Five more corpses of great whites appeared with similar wounds in the coming months, as claimed by shark biologist Alison Towner of Rhodes University. Two adult males, called Port and Starboard, who are supposed to be brothers judging by their dorsal fins that fold differently, were identified as the most probable perpetrators. The connection was officially established in 2022 based on video footage of a drone that caught three orcas chasing and biting a 3-meter great white off Mossel Bay. The sharks quickly disappeared from Dyer Island, one of the best places in the world to witness a great white.